Over a year ago I mentioned a project I created in college, a book of monster research called, Monstrous Fauna. I had every intention to share this with you sooner (I was completely done with all the scanning and archiving back in June!), but it has been a busy, crazy, weird year. But, here we are at the end of 2023, and I am sharing with you something I made in 1998. You can guarantee I am anything but punctual. While I talked a lot about the history in my previous post, this post is completely dedicated to getting the Monstrous Fauna into your hands! A .pdf of the uncompleted book is NOW AVAILABLE!
19.5x13.5
Mixed media hand-made book featuring drawings, etchings, and handwritten text© 1998-2023 Christopher Burdett
Now, you can enjoy something that I wrote and illustrated in college without the worry of checking my spelling or grammar. Why I decided to write it all by hand, I haven't a clue. I suppose I thought it was how it needed to be done. I am glad I did things differently when the Grand Bazaar rolled around.
As a reminder, this book is in many ways a precurser to what I did with the Grand Bazaar, and that the charactor of Woodbane has been around with me for a long time. While Woodbane was once very important to me he has lived on as an author and researcher in my world, having made many books about monsters of his own. I feel that it is best that he was no longer a warrior and is now a being of scholarly pursuits, even though they are a hunter and trapper as well. Needless to say, in the fullness of time, we will see Woodbane make an appearance in the Grand Bazaar.
For those that has chosen not to download the .pdf of Monstrous Fauna I have some page spread images that you can enjoy. The consists of a many etchings, drawings, and hand written text. It follows a group of Geakkoon through a section of the Leon County sinks as they encounter other creatures, friend and foe.
All images © 1998-2023 Christopher Burdett
As an added bonus, here is something that is not in the book, an image of me, as Woodbane, holding the book in a camp instalation that I made at the Leon County sinks for the group show that the book was created for. Okay, that may have been a lot and a little confusing. While at college, I took an art class that took place at the sinks, and we would walk the trails each class and make notes, sketch, take photos, and commune with nature. During the sememeter we were expected to have completed art that was enfluenced by the sinks and our time there. For the class, the book was my project. At the end of the sememster the class put on a show out at the sinks. I built a campsite with props and a tent. I built a Woodbane costume and spoke with those that attended the show about the book and the research I was doing. I would hand the book over to people and then discuss the many monster species that can be found at the sinks. I also made a giant insect monster that I placed elsewhere at the sinks. Unfortunately, I can not find any photos of the giant insect currently. Maybe one day, they will surface. The best moment of the show was when a very excited child came running to tell me they saw a giant monster bug.
Woodbane in all his, uh... majesty.
That is all for another exciting week on the blog. From here until the end of the year, my regular posting my be a little irregular with travel, the holidays, and needing to get a ton of things done. So, hopefully, I will be posting again before the new year, but if not, see you in 2024! Until then...
